Understanding Angels
by XxRoseAngelxX
Summary: As Rikia stands hand in hand with death, she is saved by a kind angel, saying that she still has business on earth. But there's a catch. Can she set her dark past right before her time is truly up? Or will she let her inner demons take over? SasuXoc
1. Back to Death

**Hey everyone !**

**New story time !**

**Now, let me warn you : This story has _nothing _to do with my previous stories.**

**Kichi is Rikia's conscience, she just happens to have a name !**

**Thanks for all of your support and review, review, review !**

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There is at least one time in your life when you question everything you've ever known. You stop and look around, take in the sights of everything around you. Then you begin to wonder. You ask yourself, 'How was the world _really _created. Were we all just meteors until we hit earth?' or maybe, 'How do birds always know which way to fly?'

But the big question that most people ask themselves in these times of pondering is, 'What am I doing?'

This question doesn't mean, 'What am I doing right now?'

No.

This question means, 'What am I doing with my life?'

Was it wrong to make that investment?

What's going to happen?

Is there any way to fix my regrets before it's too late?

Should I have treated people better?

Yes, these are the questions asked at a particular moment in a person's life. And do you know what this particular moment is?

This moment is death.

The time when you stop, and think about what you've done in your life, and what you could've done. The time when you question everything, and realize that maybe there _were_ some things that you could've done better, could've changed.

Right now, I was face-to-face with this moment, these questions.

As I struggled to keep my mind sharp and conscious, I quickly assessed my situation. There were three of us. Soon to be one of us. I gasped in air and took out the sacred scroll that we had rescued from the Sound shinobi.

Too bad we didn't realize that they had followed us back.

I threw the scroll to Ino and grinned as her teal eyes widened. She tried to argue. 'Rikia! No!'

I put up my hand, which took more effort than it should have. 'Go, Ino. Take Naruto and go. He's losing blood fast, and he won't survive much longer. I'll cover you for as long as I can. If we don't get that scroll back to the village, this whole thing will have been for nothing.'

She opened her mouth to argue again, but I spoke first. 'Ino, now I'm not asking you. Now, this is a direct order from your captain. Take Naruto and _go_.'

I softened my eyes. 'Please.'

Ino finally gave in. She ran over to where an unconscious Naruto lay and hoisted him over her shoulder. She made one final attempt. 'Rikia, they're going to be here any moment, please-'

'It's an order, Ino. You're going to need as much time as possible. I can give you that time.'

She nodded, tears forming in her eyes. 'Oh, why are you crying?' I asked. 'I'll meet up with you later.'

Naruto opened his eyes slightly and mumbled. 'G'bye..Captain..Cap'n..Rikia..'

I sensed someone coming through the trees towards us, rapidly. There were eleven of them. Ino sensed them too, and she took one final look at me before leaping off into the trees with Naruto.

**Are you sure you want to do this?**

_I protect my soldiers. No matter what. You know that._

**Yeah, but at the expense of your own life?**

_No matter what._

The first Sound ninja jumped out of the trees and landed a couple of feet in front of me. Everything on my body hurt like crazy, and the cuts all over were beginning to bleed again.

The Sound ninja walked over and snorted. 'Looks like you didn't die the first time. I gotta admit, you're a gutsy kid. Taking all those attacks and _still_ being able to run away.'

I steadied myself on a tree branch. 'Who said I'm running?'

The rest of the Sound ninja jumped out of the trees. One of them looked amused. 'Oi, Karara, she's gonna fight?'

I glared directly at him. 'Yeah, I'm fighting.'

He laughed. 'Little girl, you're gonna get hurt.'

I smiled innocently.

I'm pretty sure he didn't even see me move. I hurled the kunai from under my wrist, and it hit him directly in the heart. He had just enough time to realize what happened as the smile faded from his face and was replaced by a look of horror. He slid down and fell off of the branch, landing on the ground with a sickening thud.

'I don't think I'm the one who's gonna get hurt.'

The other Sound ninjas stared at their fallen comrade with anger and wonder in their eyes. Then, ten pairs of eyes turned on me, and I realized just how much trouble I was in. They were going to be more alert of my actions now that they had seen what I could do. I took a breath and tried to block out the pain from my injuries.

_You ready, Kichi?_

**Yeah. It's been awesome being your conscious, kid.**

_You're such a mushy person. Would you stop? We're gonna be fine._

**Yeah. Let's go.**

I summoned all of my strength and jumped up, landing awkwardly on a branch. I swung out two more kunai. One of them hit a Sound shinobi in the stomach, but the other one was dodged. _Okay..Two down, nine to go._

The rest of the Sound shinobi were acting fast. In a matter of seconds, they had me surrounded, with nowhere to go.

I was _really_ in trouble. I had virtually no chakra left, and I was surrounded by the enemy on all sides. Three more shinobi came flying at me, and I dodged two of them, drawing my katana and sticking it through the third ninja's heart. _Eight to go._

The two ninjas who I dodged came flying back at me, and I spun around to find myself face-to-face with another ninja. I got up all of the chakra I had left and punched the tree in front of me, sending a hail of sharp branches down on the two ninja in back of me. _Six to go_.

Out of nowhere, a kunai came flying out from a bush and pinned my left shoulder to the tree bark behind me. I struggled to get free, but the kunai was deeply embedded in the tree.

Five more Sound ninja were immediately in front of me. One of them stepped forward and grabbed me by the chin. He sneered at me and sent a foot flying at my stomach. I gasped in pain, sending me to my knees. 'Stupid little girl. You shoulda listened to your buddy and ran away. Now you're gonna die. And as soon as we're done here, we're going to find your little friends!'

'No!' I screamed, lunging upwards. I punched the Sound ninja in the face, sending him reeling across the tree branch and hurtling down to the forest floor. There's no way he could have survived. The other four Sound shinobi attacked immediately, and within a minute, all four of them were dead.

_One more…Where is he…?_

**I don't know, I can't sense anyone. But be super careful. If they can mask their chakra like this, they have to be stronger than the rest of them.**

I stumbled down from the tree branch, my cuts beginning to bleed badly now. I staggered over to a rock and leaned against it, trying to give myself time to relax while still being aware of my surroundings.

It all happened to fast, I wasn't really sure _what_ happened. The next thing I knew, I felt a searing pain in my chest. I looked down slowly and saw a katana sticking straight out of my chest.

I fell to the ground, clutching the sword, and the last Sound shinobi got down on one knee. It was the one that the others had called Karara. 'Hello, little ninja.'

There was no way I could talk. It hurt too much to breathe, let alone talk.

Everything was starting to go black. I struggled to get up and fight, but I could tell that this was the end.

Strangely enough, I wasn't so scared. It was like an eerie peace was just kinda…there.

I looked up into Karara's face, but I didn't feel the anger that I should have. I could only stare and try to speak. Karara stood up and kicked me in the face. I rolled across the dirt floor, but I felt no pain.

I could hardly see anything anymore. Everything was black.

But I heard Karara sigh. 'Oh, I was _so_ looking forward to killing you…Oh well. Because you fought honorably although the odds were against you, I'll let you live. Although with _that_ injury, you won't last more than an hour.'

I didn't care what he had to say anymore. There were so many things running through my mind. _How is Naruto gonna know where I put the extra nachos?_

**Shh. Just relax, Rikia…It'll be over soon…**

_Kichi…What's happening?_

**Karara's leaving. Reinforcements from the village are coming.**

_No…I mean…what's happing to me?_

**Don't worry.**

_Am I dying, Kichi?_

**Yeah, Rikia…I think you are.**

_Is it okay that I'm not scared?_

**It's better for you. Just calm down and relax. You might make it.**

_No, it's okay._

Kichi didn't answer. I guess she was listening to what was happening. I heard several people landing on the ground near me, and I heard voices. 'Look, it's Captain Rikia!'

Footsteps running towards me. Someone touched my forehead. 'She doesn't have a lot of time. We need to get her out of here, _now_.'

Someone picked me up. I opened my eyes slightly and looked into someone's eyes. I mumbled something, and then realized that the katana was no longer in my chest.

'Shh, Rikia. We won't let you die.'

I guess they thought I had passed out, because I heard someone else running next to whoever was carrying me. 'Is she really gonna make it, Kakashi?'

'I don't think so…but…I have to try and save her..'

His voice became choked with emotion. 'I can't let her die..I just can't…'

_So that's it…I'm gonna die…_

From then on, I wasn't aware of anything that was happening. I was floating through nothingness, and I was peaceful. This is what it felt like to die.

My chest started hurting again, and I knew that this was probably going to be my last breath. I took a deep breath and felt my heart stop beating immediately. For a second, I became afraid because I couldn't breathe, but then I was relaxed again. I was okay.

I heard Kakashi yelling. 'My God…Rikia! No! Stay with me, Rikia! Rikia! All of you, hurry up! She's dying!'

Nope, Kakashi, I was already gone. But thanks for trying, I guess. There's nothing you could've done.

Kakashi's voice faded. I couldn't hear anything.

I opened my eyes, and felt a warm breeze on my face. I was in a…field?

Quickly, I sat up. No hole in my chest.

I looked up and saw a lady in white standing across the field. Then she was in front of me. I gasped. 'W-who are you?'

The lady in white smiled. She was beautiful. 'Hello, Rikia. My name is not important. What's important is your choice. You're dead, do you know that?'

I nodded and looked down at the grass. 'Yeah, I know…'

'Do you want to go back?'

I looked up quickly. 'What?'

'You can go back, if you want.'

'No…I don't think I should…I mean, I don't have any family because-'

The lady held up a hand. 'You don't have to say it. I know what happened to your family.'

'Yeah, well…I don't have much to live for. I mean, I have friends and everything, but…I don't love anyone…and well, it's okay for me to die, I guess.'

'No, Rikia. You need to go back.'

I was confused. 'What? But you gave me a choice…'

The lady laughed. 'Rikia, there are things for you to do. Go back, and I promise it will all be alright. Do you trust me?'

Surprisingly, I did. So I nodded and stood up in front of the lady. She placed a hand over my heart and said, 'What do you think I am?'

'I don't know…but…I think you're an angel.'

I began to glow. 'Maybe you're right. That's for you to find out. But know this. You _will_ have to return to this place very soon.'

Then she was gone, and I my eyes flew open, only to be burned by the fluorescent lights of the hospital.

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**First chapter, done !**

**Review, please !**

**Thank you !**


	2. Sasgay!

'Rii-chan…'

I could only stare up at the bright hospital lights.

'Rii-chan…'

_Kichi, are we alive?_

**Yeah. I think so, anyway. Man, you gotta see all the gifts!**

_Gifts?! What gifts?!_

**Well, you've been out for like, a month. So a buncha people came in a brought gifts! You should see all the ones from Ino. She's been baking nonstop for the past month cause she's been so worried.**

_Really? But it's a shame that all of the food went to waste…_

**It didn't go to waste.**

_But you just said I was knocked out for a month! I couldn't have eaten some muffins and a couple of cookies while I was out!_

**Ohh, no, no. YOU didn't eat them, but every afternoon, when Ino leaves, Sasuke and Naruto come in and eat all of the food.**

_They eat all of MY food?! _

**Yep.**

'Rii-chan…'

_Who the heck is calling me?!_

I sat up quickly. 'What?!'

A pink-haired girl was sitting at the foot of my hospital bed, staring at me with bright green eyes. I scowled. 'Why're you staring?'

We stared at each other for a couple of more minutes. It was like a mental conversation. Except we weren't saying anything. If I recall correctly, the entire conversation in those few minutes went something like this :

Stare.

Stare.

Blink.

Stare.

Cough.

Stare.

Stare.

Stare.

Fidget.

I couldn't take it anymore. 'Uh, hi, Sakur-'

She squealed loudly and leaped straight across the bed. 'RIIII-CHAAAAAN!'

Sakura tackled me, squeezing me to the point where I wasn't quite sure I could breathe anymore. _Jeez, I've been awake for, what? Four minutes? And I'm already close to death again._

'S-Sakura…C-can't breathe..'

'Ohmygosh, we all thought you were gonna die for sure! Kakashi hasn't left his house in a month cause he thought it was his fault!'

She released me and I saw that she had tears in her eyes. 'Sakura! You are _not_ crying! Are you serious?! Look at me! I'm fine!'

I heard footsteps coming down that hallway. 'Sakura! Why're you talking to yourself!?'

The door to my room swung open and there was dead silence in the room again. I turned my head to look towards the door, and it took all of my self control not to start laughing hysterically. Standing in the doorway was a boy with short, black hair and unusually pale skin. He had an incredibly serious face on.

And he was holding a giant, pink, fluffy bear.

Even Sakura was quiet, staring.

The boy turned bright red.

I coughed. 'Er…'

He walked into the room and plopped the bear down on the bed. 'Don't say a word. _You_,' he said, pointing at Sakura, 'weren't supposed to be in the room. And _you_,' he pointed at me, 'weren't supposed to be awake.'

Sakura spoke up. 'But that…I mean…Where the heck did you get the bear..?'

The boy turned an even _brighter_ red. 'I- I mean…I got it from a friend, okay?!'

I snickered. 'Well thanks anyway, Sai. Even though it worries me that you walked around the village with a giant bear.'

Sai grumbled something, kicking at the floor tiles, his face getting brighter and brighter. 'Jeez, Sai, don't you smile?' asked Sakura, poking him in the face.

He swatted her hand away. 'I smile. I smile when stupid girls aren't poking me in the face. By the way, that shirt makes you look fat.'

_Oh, no…_

Sakura exploded. 'WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!'

Sai looked at her with absolutely no emotion on his face. 'Oh, let me put it in Sakura terms. That shirt makes you look like a cow. A house.'

She moved in slow motion, leaping across the bed towards Sai. He didn't even bat an eyelash. I sat up a little more and stretched out a hand to push Sakura back. 'No! No! He didn't mean it, Sakura! He's kidding! Haha! Right, _Sai_?!'

Sai looked at me, and I sent a particularly nasty glare towards him. Finally, he sighed and turned to Sakura. 'Yeah. Kidding. Haha.'

I'm pretty sure Sakura didn't believe him, but she plopped back down into her chair, scowling across the room at Sai. Sai turned towards me. 'So what's _your_ story, hm?'

'What do you mean?' I asked.

'Rikia, you're supposed to be dead. Actually, when Kakashi first brought you in, you _were_ dead.'

My blood went cold. 'Wait a second. I _died_?!'

Sakura nodded. 'We didn't even have time to perform an emergency operation. You were definitely dead. But then you just kinda…popped back up.'

'A genius description, Sakura, as always,' said Sai, the sarcasm making Sakura even more irritable. 'Now then, Rikia. Any questions about your death?'

For a moment, I saw quiet. I looked down at the sheets and clenched my fists as I asked, 'Did…did _they_ come visit me?'

Sai and Sakura exchanged glances, and then I already knew the answer.

I sighed. 'I guess not.'

'You know wgat's the _really_ bad part? That scroll you almost died retrieving? It belonged to the Zankichi clan. They didn't even care when Tsunade-sama told them that you were in a coma, almost dead.'

I laughed bitterly. 'Well what did you expect? It's not the first time I've almost died because of them. Why would you expect them to care this time?'

The door to my room swung open again and a blond with spiky hair and bright blue eyes walked into the room. His gaze went from Sakura, to me, to Sai. And then he saw the giant pink bear next to Sai. He raised an eyebrow. 'Sai…Dude…I didn't know you liked me like that.'

'What?! No, you idiot! The bear isn't for _you_! It's for Rikia!' screamed Sai.

Naruto looked at me again. Then his eyes got _really_ wide. 'You're _alive_?! Man, you just don't wanna die, eh?'

'Yeah, hi to you, too, Naruto…'

He gave me a peculiar look. 'Hey, no hard feelings about me claiming all of the stuff in your apartment, right?'

'Oh, I – wait, what?! Narut-'

'Oh, what's that, Rikia? You need your pain medications? Well, alright!' said Naruto, smiling widely. He took a needle out of the side drawer on my nightstand.

I panicked. 'W-what?! No! I don't need meds! Are you allowed to have that needle?! Naruto! No!'

He stuck the needle in my arm quickly, and I immediately began to feel drowsy. _Must…kill…Naruto…_

**Pfff you just got owned by the village idiot. **

_Shut up! I'm a recovering victim! Like I had the strength to outsmart Naruto right now!_

**Rikia. A mentally impaired roadkilled squirrel has the strength to outsmart Naruto.**

I was too drowsy to reply. I fell into a deep sleep, cursing Naruto all the way.

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**_0o0o0o0o0SasukePOV00o0o0TwoHoursLater0oo0o0SasukePOV0o0o0o0TwoHoursLater_**

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I had been sleeping, rather peacefully, might I add, and then my nice morning was turned into a mad dash to the hospital. Yeah. Cause that's where _I _wanna be on my day off. Totally.

And, really now, who jumps through someone's _window_ to tell them news?! Why not use the door?! Or maybe, I don't know, the phone?!

Nope, that would be too easy for Naruto, right? Yeah.

I was sleeping happily, when Naruto decided it was time to ruin my day. 'Get up!' he screamed. 'Rikia's awake!'

I was still a little groggy from sleep, so all I could do was stare at him for a minute. 'So she's alive?'

'Obviously, teme.'

'What a shame, I was hoping I would get her job after she died,' I muttered, rolling out of bed.

Naruto snorted. 'Yeah, okay, teme. Why do you hate her so much?'

'Because I just don't like her.'

Naruto didn't answer. I turned around and saw that Naruto had disappeared from my window. Whatever, right? Wrong.

I wouldn't have cared if my pants had been on the chair, where I left them.

The chair next to the window, that is.

I sprang to the window, leaning out to look around. I saw Naruto hopping from rooftop to rooftop, with my pants streaming behind him. 'I'll be at the hospital if you want these back!' he yelled behind him, with people down on the street laughing hysterically.

'Naruto, you dobe! Come back here, right now! I WANT MY PANTS BACK!'

I said it before I could stop myself.

Someone down on the street laughed and pointed up at my window. 'Sasgay!'

I groaned loudly and slammed the window shut.

So here I am. Flying across Konoha. With no pants. Which is probably why I was running so fast. I was getting to that hospital before anyone realized I didn't have any-

'OHMYGOD! GIRLS, LOOK! IT'S SASUKE! WITH NO PANTS!'

Noooooo! Why, why, why?! I pulled my boxers up and ran faster, ignoring the pounding footsteps behind me, which indicated that my fangirls were hot on my trail. Great. This is just a beautiful morning. Hey, are those cherry blossoms starting to bloom? Hm, kinda early for that.

I saw the hospital ahead of me. Yes, almost there! So close! Ten more feet! Almost…

Nope. I was down. Someone jumped out of the tree next to the entrance to the hospital, tackling me down onto the dirt road. 'Nooooo!' I yelled, trying to squirm out from under my attacker. 'My paaaaants!'

The fangirls were almost there. I had to move. I squirmed around to look into the face of my captor. 'GOSHDAMMIT, NEJI, WHY?!'

Neji smiled. 'Hiiiii! I'm hanging out with the fangirls today!'

'I CAN TELL! NOW GET OFF! I GOTTA GO CATCH NARUTO AND GET MY PANTS BACK!'

I struggled some more. Neji just sat there, watching me. 'I didn't know you rolled that way, Sasuke.'

'I. DON'T. NOW GET OFF!'

'Okeedokes.'

Neji hopped off of me, turning to walk away. _That was weird._

I wasted no time. The fangirls were rounding the corner, meaning that I had about ten seconds to get on my feet and run as fast as I could for the safety of the hospital. I sprinted towards the door, slamming it behind me as I ran for the stairs, just in the case the fangirls were smart enough to figure out that I had entered the building.

I heard Naruto's voice on the third floor, and I immediately sped up. The idiot was going to pay. As soon as I crashed out of the stairwell and into the hallway, I was met with strange looks and whispers. Some of the less discreet people began to point at me. I was so desperate to find my pants that I forgot where I was. 'Okay, people! I understand! I'm not wearing any pants! NO PANTS! So stop staring! Everybody, just WALK AWAY!'

There was dead silence in the hallway before everyone began murmuring and walking away quickly to gossip about the crazy Uchiha with no pants. Great.

'Stupid teme. Have some respect for sick people, would you? Hn. _That_ would be the day. When Sasuke had _respect_ for someone.'

_Gosh, this day can't get any worse._

I turned around.

And came face-to-face with the last person that I ever wanted to see.

'Shut up, Rikia.'


	3. Death Sentence

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**XxxXRikiaTimeXxxXRikiaTimeXxxXRikiaTimeXxxXRikiaTimeXxxX **

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This was just _not_ my day. First, I woke up from a month-long coma. Then a bunch of people storm my hospital room and knock me out. Now I gotta deal with this idiot. Where were his pants, anyway?

'Well? Either get out or go put some pants on. No one wants to see your nasty legs. Really,' I said, glaring at him. He sneered and rolled his eyes.

'Where's Naruto,' said Sasuke, looking around.

I turned to walk away. He wasn't worth my time. Who did he think he was, anyway? Sasuke Uchiha. Oh boy. The most arrogant, selfish, conceited person ever to walk the planet. Did I mention his superiority complex? Oh, yeah. Because _no one_ was better than an Uchiha. Whatever.

'Hey! I asked you a question!' yelled Sasuke, running after me. I ignored him. 'You can't ignore me!'

I spun around and looked at him right in the eyes. 'Shut up, you think you're so great? You're not.'

'Rude. That's what you are. Didn't your mother teach you how to talk to people?'

My eyes got wide, and I almost forgot to breathe. This was just another reason to hate Sasuke. I faced him, the anger building up. He must have seen it in my eyes, because he took an involuntary step backwards, his expression shocked.

'No. Sorry, my mom didn't teach me much. I don't have a perfect family like you.'

He just continued to look shocked. I turned to walk away, when I heard another voice. 'Oh, now don't be mean to him!'

It was a girl's voice, but when I spun around again, no one was standing in the hallway except for Sasuke and the nurses and doctors moving about from room to room.

'What'd you say?' I asked.

'I didn't say anything to you,' replied Sasuke.

'Yes you did. You definitely said something.'

'No. I definitely didn't. Hearing voices is the first sign of insanity, you know.'

'Shut up.'

I went to walk away again, but the voice began speaking. 'Fix your hair. You look like a mess!'

'What was that?!' I yelled, taking a threatening step towards Sasuke.

He held his hands in front of him defensively. 'I didn't say anything to you! I haven't said anything! You're crazy!'

Then I saw her. Standing right behind Sasuke, grinning from ear to ear. She was wearing all white, and she seemed to be glowing with an eerie light. She had bright blue hair and deep purple eyes. I pointed. 'Y-you! You're the one who saved me!'

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and looked around. 'What?'

'No! Not _you_, stupid! Her! Behind you!'

'He can't see me,' said the girl, still grinning. 'He thinks you're talking to yourself right now.'

_I can't believe this. Can YOU see her, Kichi?!_

**See who?**

_What?!_

**I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Blue hair, purple eyes, white dress? Yeah, I see her! Jeez, you're panicky…**

_Well, YEAH, I'm panicky! There's an imaginary person talking to me!_

The girl stepped forward a little and snapped her fingers. 'Hey, hey! Eyes over here!'

'Why are you doing this?!' I yelled, becoming more and more scared by the minute.

'Why am I doing _what_?!' yelled back Sasuke. 'I'm not doing anything!'

'Why am I doing this? Well, at first I had to tell you something, but now I think I just wanna mess with you,' answered the girl. 'Hey, you wanna see something _really_ cool?'

'No! I don't!'

By now, the nurses, doctors, and patients were stopping in the hallway to watch me scream at thin air. The girl walked over to the nearest nurse and stepped behind her, so I couldn't see the girl anymore. A second later, I saw a hand coming _through_ the nurse's head. The nurse shivered and touched her head, looking around.

'Stop that!'

The girl removed her arm from the nurse's head and walked back to me, smiling happily. _She's nothing like the one who saved me!_

**Yeah, you're right. The one who brought you back was a lot more serious.**

_In other words, this girl is a complete idiot._

**Pretty much.**

* * *

**XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxX**

* * *

What the hell.

Rikia was yelling at no one. I wasn't wearing any pants. There were lots of people staring. Damn this day. Damn it to hades.

All of a sudden, Rikia stopped screaming and stared at a spot right behind my head. I turned around, but there was no one standing there. I turned back to Rikia. This had to stop. I wasn't worried about _her_. Oh, no. I couldn't care less what happened to _her_.

I just didn't want people to think that I was involved in her little crazy invisible friend stunt. I liked my reputation as a _sane_ person. And I wasn't about to lose it because of someone who I didn't even _partially_ like.

'So you're not the one who saved me?' asked Rikia, still staring. 'There are more of you?'

I leaned forward and grabbed Rikia's arm, but she was so interested in what her imaginary friend had to say that she didn't even notice, even as I began pulling her down the hallway, looking for an empty room.

'No! There was another one, when I was dying! She brought me back!' continued Rikia.

I whispered, 'Can you stop talking to your little buddy for a couple of seconds while we get _out of public_?!'

She ignored me. 'Yes, I'm sure! I think I would remember a death experience!'

There! Empty room! Yes! I threw Rikia into the room, locking the door behind me. 'What are you doing?!' I yelled.

Rikia ignored me still. She was staring at the bed, listening intently to…absolutely nothing. 'Hello?! Rikia! Ri-ki-a!'

She was still staring at the bed. I walked over and examined the bed closely. Then I screamed and jumped back. Out of absolutely _nowhere_, a girl had materialized onto the bed. She had bright blue hair and deep violet eyes. And she just scared the crap outta me. 'W-who are you?!'

The girl looked up at me with a shocked face. 'You can see me?'

Rikia grabbed me by the arm. 'You can see her?!'

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**XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxX**

* * *

_He can see her! I'm not crazy!_

**No, you're still a bit crazy. **

Sasuke backed away, towards the door. 'How did you get in here without me seeing?!'

The girl stood up and held out her hand to Sasuke. 'Hiya! I'm not quite sure how you can see me, but it's nice to meet you!'

Sasuke screamed like a little girl and ran out of the room. I could hear him stumbling down the hallway, knocking over carts as he ran. _Stupid coward._

**Stupid HOT coward.**

_Hot?! Ew! Uchiha is NOT hot! _

The glowing girl poked me in the face. 'Helloo?'

'What?!'

'What were you saying before about the person who saved you?'

I thought for a minute. 'She was glowing like you, but I didn't really see her face. I actually didn't wanna come back, but she kind of forced me…Oh, and she said that I was going to be back there soon.'

'Back where?'

'I don't know. Some field, meadowy thing.'

The girl stopped to think. 'Hm, as far as I know, I'm the first one the society has sent for you…'

'The society?'

**Sounds dramatic. The society. Hehe.**

_I'm glad you're finding this funny, Kichi._

'But I guess I'll just contact my superiors and find out if they sent anyone else. Until I get back, do _not_ speak to anyone else who claims to be from the society. Got it?'

I was confused. 'Wait! Why are you here in the first place?! And why did that girl send me back?! What's going on?!'

'Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine. My name's Kanako, by the way.'

Then she was gone. Just disappeared, like that. I was alone in the room. Or so I thought.

'Hello, little one.'

I gasped and turned around, facing the window. And there she was. The woman who had saved me. I could see her a lot more clearly now. She was older than Kanako, and her hair was a dark shade of red, and her eyes were bright blue.

I could've asked so many questions, but I chose only one. 'Why did you save me?'

The woman didn't even flinch. 'Because you have things to do. It was not your time.'

'Are you from the same society as Kanako-san?'

'I am. But you must not tell Kanako about me. I am on a top secret mission from the society, and Kanako does not know about it. If she knows any information about it, she could endanger my mission.'

'What's your mission?' I asked.

'I cannot tell you that, little one. I can only tell you that I am here to protect you, and I will make sure that those who conspire against you.'

'Who are you? And why would anyone want to conspire against me?'

'My name is Rioko. Do you know how powerful you are, Rikia?'

I just stared at her. 'Powerful? I mean, I guess I'm strong…'

'You are more than strong, Rikia. You are seventeen years old, and you are already a team captain. Not many people can put that on their list of accomplishments for their lives. There are people who want to use your abilities in death. I will not let them.'

'Wait…So was I actually _supposed_ to die?'

Rioko looked at me. 'Technically, yes. You were supposed to die. But to keep your power from falling into the wrong hands, I had to bring you back.'

'And…when you said that I would be back to that place soon, what did you mean?'

'I don't want to alarm you…' began Rioko. 'But…'

'But?'

'If every Merani could bring back someone who they were trying to protect, then no work would ever become complete. So there is a limit to how _long_ we can bring someone back to Earth.'

I was feeling dizzy. I was going to die anyway. My voice was hoarse and weak as I asked, 'So how long do I have?'

Rioko put her hand on my shoulder. 'I'm not quite sure, because I had to use my power in great haste. But…you have anywhere from a week to a month.'


	4. Softening Hearts

For a second, I just stared at Rioko. I blinked a couple of times, and then I looked away, towards the window. _Anywhere from a week to a month?! What the hell?!_

'Then why?!' I said, raising my voice. 'Why did you save me, without even knowing when the hell I'm gonna die ?!'

Rioko sighed. 'I'm sorry, Rikia. But I had no time to do anything else.'

I ignored her and walked slowly to the door. My head was spinning uncontrollably, and I felt lightheaded. As I opened the door, I heard Rioko pleading with me. 'Please, Rikia! Just stay and let me explain so that we can figure out what the best plan of action is!'

Again, I ignored her, opening the door to the room and shuffling into the hallway. Behind me, I could still hear Rioko calling for me. The door closed softly behind me, and Rioko's calls were muffled. From where I stood, everything was moving in slow motion.

I saw someone being rushed past on a stretcher, but to me, he was moving slower than I could raise my arm. The guy on the stretcher was hooked up to a bunch of tubes. The nurses pushing the stretcher looked frantic, but the guy looked calm. _I wonder if he knows he's gonna die. He must know how it feels right now._

I looked away from the man and walked down the hallway, everything still moving in slow motion. As I passed rooms, I saw all sorts of things. In one, I saw a young kid sitting up in his bed, playing his video games on the hospital television. I stopped for a moment and stared. He looked really happy. _He's probably gonna make it. He probably won't die. He'll get better and get discharged. He'll go home to his family and have a happy life. He'll get married and have kids and then he'll die when he's old and it's really his time. He won't be like me._

The thought brought a single tear to my eye, but I quickly blinked it away.

I continued walking, dodging slow motion nurses and doctors, rushing to see their patients and maybe, just _maybe_, save a life. A couple of rooms down from the video game kid, I saw a bunch of people gathered around a bed. I wandered into the room, but no one noticed me. They were all focused on the person lying in the bed.

She was a middle-aged woman, probably about 40 years old. She was hooked up to a bunch of machines, and her eyes were flitting. She was somewhere between conscious and unconscious. Closest to the bed, there was a man, who I guessed was her husband.

He reached out and grabbed the woman's hand, and most of the people in the room began to cry. The woman's heart rate began to quicken, and that's when I left the room. I couldn't take seeing that. _I wonder if that's gonna be me. Am I gonna die real fast, or am I going to linger here for a couple of days? I wonder if anyone will cry…Probably Naruto. He's kinda emotional. And maybe Sakura. Will my family come to see me? I don't think so…They won't really care, I guess. Ha! Maybe they'll even have a party. I think that's a bit more accurate._

As I kept walking down the hall, I stopped at the final room before I reached the staircase. It was quiet in the room, and at first, I thought there was no one in the room. But then I heard the slow beeping of a heart rate monitor. I walked into the dimly lit room. All of the blinds were down, and the only light was coming from the television, which had nothing on it but static. On the bed, there was an old man.

I thought he was asleep, so I just stared at him for a couple of seconds. 'Hey, kid.'

I jumped a little bit and walked over to the bed. 'Hey, jii-san.'

'Why're you here? It's a nice day outside…Well, that's what the nurse told me,' rasped the old man. I looked around and noticed that there was no one else in the room. Why didn't he have any family in there? Even _I_ could tell that this old man was close to death.

'Eh, I woke up from a coma this morning, so I haven't really had time to go outside yet,' I replied. Surprisingly, I found it easy to talk to this old man. Probably because the both of us were in the same boat. Death.

'Coma, eh? Sounds rough. I'm in for heart problems. I figure that I have about, eh, three days left in me.'

I liked this old guy. He was cool. 'Then where's your family, jii-san? Shouldn't they be here?'

The old man chuckled, and then coughed. 'My family don't have much use for me anymore. My kids are "stuck" in the Water Country, but I guess that's not much of a shock.'

'Oh,' I said. 'I'm sorry.'

The old man smiled. 'You're really sorry? Well then, help me out a bit.'

'Okay.'

'First, you can start on that confounded television. The remote doesn't work, and I wanna watch the news.'

I pulled a chair across the room and stood on it, fiddling around with the knobs on the television. Finally, I got a clear picture on it. I turned it to the right channel, and then stepped off the chair.

'Good job, girl!' exclaimed the old man. 'You're a better nurse than the actual nurses are!'

I smiled. Then the old man motioned to the windows. 'Next, you can open those blinds and windows. It's dark and stuffy, and if I can't go outside, I might as well see the day.'

I pulled up the blinds and forced open the window, letting light and warm air into the room. It felt nice, and when I turned around, I was shocked at how much the room had changed. It had gone from a den of death to a room full of sunshine. Even the old man seemed livelier.

He laughed. 'Well, well! Most people wouldn't bother wasting time on an old coot like me! You're a good kid.'

'Yeah, I guess…My name's Rikia, by the way.'

The old man extended a hand for me to shake. 'The name's Myouka. Kid, is there one more thing you could do for me?'

'What is it?'

'I don't have a lot of time left. So…could you…could you be my family? Just until I'm gone? They all pretty much abandoned me.'

I blinked a couple of times, obviously shocked. 'I…um, okay, I guess.'

'Why you hesitating, girl?'

'I'm, uh…I'm not used to…actually _having_ family. Even a pretend family. They…They're not around.'

Myouka looked at me. 'They died?'

'…No. They abandoned me as a baby.'

A single tear went down my face when I thought about things like these.

'That's tough. So you've never met your family?'

I nodded. 'No, I've met them. I know them. There's a reason why they abandoned me in front of the Hokage's office. They left me because the woman who gave birth to me decided that she didn't _want_ a kid.'

'Well, Rikia,' began Myouka, 'they're obviously not your _real_ family. Your family are supposed to be people who comfort you when you're sad, and support you, and help you through anything, no matter what. Kind of like what you did today. Here I was, sitting in a stuffy hospital room, with no sunlight and a crappy tv, but you took time to help an old man. As of right now, you're the only real "family" I have.'

It took me a minute to process all of this. Then I smiled at Myouka. 'Well, in that case, sure, Myouka-jii-san. I'll be your family.'

* * *

**_XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxXSasuke!XxxX_**

* * *

I didn't stop running until I got home. Actually, I _couldn't_ stop running. Everytime I thought about what I had just seen, I freaked out and ran faster. My legs were aching and hurting, but I didn't wanna stop running. I thought that when I stopped, some random civilian would come up to me and be like, 'YOU SEE PEOPLE WHO AREN'T THERE.'

Yeah, I get paranoid. So I ran. And ran, and ran, and ran, and ran.

At the front gate to my house, I furiously slapped the intercom system until someone answered. 'What is it?! We don't wanna buy anything, and I've told you a million times!'

'No, Itachi, you idiot! It's me! Let me in!' I yelled, desperate to be off of the streets.

I heard Itachi sigh on the other end of the system. 'But the button to open the gate…It's so _far_.'

'Itachi! Open the damn gate! This is an emergency!'

'Is someone dead?'

'No!'

'Is someone injured?'

'No!'

'Are you sick?'

'No!'

'Then it's not an emergency!'

I punched the gate.

'Ah, little brother. Little, foolish brother. You should know by now, I enjoy annoying you.'

I breathed slowly, trying to calm down. 'Okay, Itachi, could you _please_ open the gate? Please?'

Itachi laughed. 'Alright, fine, Sasuke. But your little friend is here.'

'Little friend?'

_I have little friends? I thought I only had Naruto and Sai…_

'Yeah, your friend!'

I heard Itachi move away from the microphone to talk to someone else in the room with him. 'What'd you say your name is, again?'

Someone else in the background began to talk in an excited voice. 'My name is Neji!'

_Nooooooo!_

'Nooooooo!' I yelled, backing away from the gate. 'No! Neji! Get the hell out of my house!'

Itachi spoke into the microphone again. 'Sasuke, don't be rude! Neji was just showing me a great recipe for cookies!'

_Dear God, he's infiltrated my house! I gotta get to Naruto's…Quick. Real quick. Like, now._

'Never freaking mind!'

I went dashing down the street in the opposite direction. _Why can't I find a freaking place where there's peace?! Why?!_

As I went down the alleys of Konoha, dodging people, my mind went back to Rikia. Can you believe it?! Rikia! Of all people, I had to think of Rikia! Stupid Rikia, who got _my_ job as a team captain. Rikia, who thinks that she's _so_ much better than me. And now, because of _her_, I see little people who aren't there!

_It's all her fault! I bet she sent Neji to my house, too! Who was that girl, anyway? The one who had appeared out of nowhere? I bet she and Rikia had a deal. They wanted to scare the crap outta me._

'Well, congratulations!' I yelled angrily at the sky, stopping in the middle of a busy street. 'You got me! Are you happy, witch?!'

People stopped to stare and point at me. Once again, I was the crazy Uchiha. Wonderful. I laughed nervously and kept walking down the street, putting up the hood on my jacket so that no one would see me. _My God, I'm going crazy. Completely crazy. I can't do this. I needa do something to keep myself sane. Anything. _

As I passed by an alley, I heard someone giggle. 'You _are_ funny!'

I froze. I knew that voice. That was the voice that belonged to the girl. The invisible one who wasn't invisible anymore. _No. Keep walking. Don't look, don't pay attention. Don't let her know that you can see her. Keeeeeep freeeeeaking gooooing. Don't look, don't look, don't look._

In a flash of bright blue hair, the girl was standing in front of me, staring me straight in the eyes. I tried to ignore her, but it was impossible. She held out her hand directly in front of her, forcing me to stop. 'I know you can see me,' said the girl. 'And unless you want the world to think you're crazy, I propose a truce.'

I looked around to make sure that no one was staring at me. I was clear. 'Okay,' I whispered. 'Lead me somewhere _private_, and maybe I'll listen, even though I _know_ you're not really there.'

The girl turned around and began to walk, her white dress flowing out behind her. 'Fine. Follow.'

She walked down the street, looking into various nooks and crannies between buildings and houses. Finally, she stopped in front of one particular alley. She looked back at me. 'Come on.'

Skipping happily, she entered the alley. I carefully followed until the girl stopped at the end of the alley, near a brick wall. She spun around and looked at me for a couple of seconds. 'Sit down, relax. Drag over a box.'

I did what she said and sat down on one of the empty bins strewn over the alley. 'What do you want,' I said hastily, still not believing that I was speaking to an imaginary girl.

'What do I want,' she repeated. 'Well, first, let's start with introductions. My name's Kanako, who're you?'

'Uchiha,' I replied. 'Sasuke Uchiha.'

'Well, good! Now that we know each other, we can get down to business! You're friends with Rikia-chan, correct?'

I snorted. '_Friends_? Ha! I'm not friends with her.'

'But you know her. Whatever.'

'I guess I'm _acquainted_ with her. That's all.'

Kanako smiled happily. 'Admitting it is the first step here. Good job.'

_What did I admit? Eh, I don't know. I'll just sit here and nod until she disappears._

'You might wanna be a little nicer to Rikia for the next month or so.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'Nice? Why?'

'Well, there _is_ the little fact that she's gonna die sometime between now and next month.'

It took me a couple of seconds to realize what Kanako had just told me. 'What?'

'Mhm, you heard me. She's gonna die. But before I get into _that_, I might as well explain a couple of things to you. First of all, I'm from a society of spirits called the Merani. The duty of a regular Merani is to make sure that the dead souls of mortals successfully reach our home, where they can be kept safe for all eternity. You following me so far?'

'I think,' I replied. Kanako nodded and continued.

'Okeedokes. Well, I belong to special sect of the society. Every once in a while, you get the mortal who has extraordinary spiritual powers. No one knows why, but these mortals can be a _real_ nuisance when they die, because they're not like other mortals. Their souls keep the powers, so when they die, their souls roam free in our world. Unless they're picked up by our retrievers, they could fall into the wrong hands.'

_Why am I even listening to this?! I should just walk away now! I'm not even sure this is real!_

Burt, in a little corner of my mind, there was the tiny voice that said, 'But what if it _is_ real? Then you're gonna walk around like an idiot for the rest of the day, not knowing why the hell this stuff is happening.'

_Ugh, I hate the little conscience voice…_

Kanako was still talking. 'In our world, there's no ruler. There's no one who holds the true power in our world. Everyone is equal. But there is a group who seeks to rule our world, and ultimately rule other worlds, including this one. They are former Merani soul retrievers, who decided to defect and betray the society. When a mortal with extraordinary powers dies, the traitors seek to steal the mortal's soul and use their power to take over our world.'

I interrupted. 'What does this have to do with Rikia dying? Oh wait, lemme guess. She just _happens_ to be one of those rare humans who has superpowers in the afterlife?'

Kanako looked shocked. 'I-uh, well, yes…'

'That's just dandy, isn't it?!' I yelled. 'Of course, it's Rikia who has to have the powers, right? It's always Rikia, right? Well, let me tell you something, you can just take care of this yourself, because I want nothing to do with her. If she's so great, and she has so much power, then she can take care of it herself.'

I turned around to storm away, but a strong hand grabbed my hand and held me back. I turned back around and found myself staring straight into the angry eyes of Kanako. It actually surprised me, seeing Kanako with such a serious face on.

She didn't let go of my hand. Instead, she tightened her grip. And let me tell you, that chick was _strong_. There was no way I could have gotten free of her, even if I had tried.

'Listen here, boy,' she said threateningly. 'I don't care what kind of grudge against Rikia you have. But if _you_ don't help her, then _my_ world will eventually be destroyed, and I won't have that happening. So either you willingly help, or I can take complete control of your mind and _make_ you help. And let me just inform you, Merani mind control is _incredibly_ painful and mentally scarring for the receiver, so much so that it is a forbidden technique, but I don't think _you'll_ be telling anyone by the time I'm done. Got it?'

I was so stunned, it took me a minute to be able to speak. 'I-uh-wha...Um, I…'

Kanako's eyes began to turn different colors. 'Not only _that_, but that fact that you wouldn't even bother to save another human being is despicable. You are the worst kind of person. The person who doesn't care about anyone else but themselves. Now Rikia will _die_ because of you. Do you know how that is going to feel on your conscience? Maybe not now, and maybe it'll take a couple of years, but I assure you, one day, when you are sitting alone and thinking, it will hit you. The realization. The realization that _you_ were responsible for the death of another person. And no one recovers from that. Not even the great Uchicha Sasuke.'

I was so shocked, that at first, I didn't realize that Kanako was actually _crying_.

_Crap! I made her cry! I didn't wanna make her cry!_

'I…Kanako-san…I…'

_She's right. What kind of person am I? Even though I hate Rikia, I can't just let her die…It would be the exact same thing as killing her myself. I'm not gonna like it, but…_

'I'll help,' I muttered, offering a tissue to Kanako. 'I'll help.'

She looked up at me, and through the tears, she smiled. Then she hopped up and snatched the tissue away. Looking back at me, I saw her giggle.

'Good! Now, follow, please!'

_Was she faking the entire time?! No…Impossible…_

'Are you coming?' called Kanako, already at the entrance to the alley. I didn't have time to think, so I jumped up and ran after her.

* * *

**_XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxXRikia!XxxX_**

* * *

_Why? Why does this happen?_

**Rikia, it's not your fault. You didn't even do anything.**

_Why…?_

Everything was happening so fast. So loud.

The nurses, rushing into Myouka's room. The sound of the heart rate monitor, going crazy. The sound of the doctor, yelling orders. It was beginning to be too much.

_How did this happen?_

**Rii-chan, listen to me. You didn't do anything. You were just talking to him. It's not your fault that his heart rate spiked. You didn't do anything.**

One of the nurses bumped into me. 'Oh…Are you the jii-san's family?'

'I…Yes,' I replied.

The nurse looked around nervously. 'I…I don't quite know if you really want to be in the room right now…We don't know what might happen…'

I nodded numbly. 'Okay…'

Slowly, I walked out of the room and stood right outside the doorway, so I could still see what was going on. The doctor was working furiously, trying to steady Myouka's heart.

_Jii-chan…Open your eyes. Open your eyes. Please. Open your eyes!_

And he did. But nothing slowed down. It was worse than before. The doctor yelling, the nurses yelling, the heart monitor…and now, on top of that, Myouka was looking at me. He knew I was there. He could see me. And for a split second, I saw something in his eyes. It was something like…gratitude.

Then it happened. The one thing I had been dreading.

A flatline.

_No…_

'No!' I yelled. I looked at the doctor frantically. 'Do something!'

He looked down at the tile and shook his head. 'I'm so sorry, little girl. There's nothing more we can do. I'm sorry.'

'No!' I yelled again. The doctor left the room. The nurses began to stream out after him. I looked at each one as she passed and pleaded with her. 'P-please. You have to d-do something. No! Wait! Please don't leave! Please save him…'

They all had the same sad, apologetic look in their eyes. The last nurse even stopped to hug me, but I didn't feel it. I didn't feel anything.

When they had all gone, I dropped to my knees and held my head against the floor.

_No…_

**I'm sorry, Rii-chan…**

_He was the closest thing I ever had to a real family. I only knew him for a day, but he was family. And now he's gone…Is that what I'm gonna end up like? Fine one moment, and then gone the next? _

**No…We'll find a way…**

_No. Not this time. This time, I'm done. For good. I don't care anymore._

'Rikia?'

Someone was in the doorway. I couldn't have cared less. I just stayed on the floor.

The person walked over and put their hand on my shoulder. 'Rikia, what happened here?'

That voice was familiar.

_No…_

_It can't be._

_It's not._

'Rikia?

_But it is. And I'm not angry. Why aren't I angry? I should be angry…_

The person bent down and put their arms around me, pulling me into a hug. I didn't resist. For that moment, I was grateful.

'It's okay now, Rikia.'

_Sasuke…_

'Thank you,' I whispered.


End file.
